In the Weeks Ahead at Lake Technical College
- Student Seminar “General Diversity”, February 7, 10 am in the Board Room
- Leadership Lake Education Day, February 8
- Fire Fighter/EMT Orientation Dinner, February 9, 7 pm at IPS
- Manufacturing Round Table, February 10, 8 am in Tech Dining Room
- SkillsUSA Cosmetology, Facials, Nails competition, February 13 at Lake Tech
- Lake Legislative Days, February 15 & 16 in Tallahassee
- No School, February 20 for President’s Day
- Career TechXpo – Annual Open House, February 23, 5-7 pm in the Lobby
- GeorgeFest Parade, February 25
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Manufacturing Facts: According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, there are 19,708 manufacturing establishments in Florida. The average annual wage in the manufacturing industry is $55,520. Refer to the table to see the employment and wages for the top 5 Florida manufacturing segments.
| Manufacturing Sector | Employment | Average Wage ($) |
| Aerospace products and parts | 19,157 | 77,343 |
| Medical equipment and supplies | 18,784 | 56,189 |
| Printing and related support activities | 17,598 | 38,878 |
| Electronic components | 15,947 | 76,878 |
| Electronic instruments | 15,703 | 69,191 |
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
HEALTH SCIENCE
EMS Programs – The EMT students were in their labs all week developing patient assessment and airway management skills. The students spend many hours in learning how to assess a patient in a thorough and confident manner.
Practical Nursing – On Thursday, February 2nd, LPN program graduate Shannon Freitag was presented a $500 Scholarship by the Eustis Elks. Shannon and her family are thrilled and grateful. The Eustis Elks are very supportive of Lake Tech students in the nursing, law enforcement, and fire fighting programs.
HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
Commercial Foods and Culinary Arts – Students from the Culinary program were very busy this week with some special events. First, they prepared and provided a continental breakfast for the Counselor Workshop held at Lake Sumter State College. Next, they prepared lunch for the Charter Board of Directors. On Thursday, they prepared a full breakfast for the Lake Tech Staff Alumni Association. What a great week and the fool and presentation was spot on as always! (Yummy too).
PUBLIC SAFETY
Law Enforcement – The evening Law Enforcement recruits completed firearms, all recruits passed the proficiency part. Recruits also took the firearms block exam. Attached are some photos of recruits on the range.
TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS
Auto Service Technology (AST) – The AST students had the opportunity to learn basic diagnostic skills using a lawnmower engine and to apply what they’ve learned. A vehicle, with a few problems allowed the students to figure out how they would transfer what they learned on a small one cylinder engine into a full size six cylinder engine. In the end they all figured out the problem and were amazed how simple the problem was but how hard it would have been to diagnose without having a basic understanding of how an engine works.
The pictures show one of the students replacing a windshield washer fluid reservoir, level sensor and pump after a inoperative windshield nozzle was discovered. The replacement of the components fixed the problem and gave the student increased confidence in his diagnostic skills.
Auto Collision Repair and Refinishing – Students from the Auto Collision and Welding programs worked together preparing decorations for the GeorgeFest float. A map of the United States was cut out of metal and the Collision students painted it.
Diesel Technology – James Cefalo practiced repairing the wiring on a 24 valve Cummins engine. Hugo Rangel is applied his knowledge by removing the Jake brake on a 60 series Detroit Diesel and learning how to readjust the valves after it is installed. Benjamin Jones is checking the crankshaft main bearing oil clearance with Plastiguage.
New business partner PowerTech, located in Leesburg, donated five brand new diesel engines to the Diesel Technology program. These engines will be integrated into the curriculum immediately for the students to work on and gain additional experience.
ADULT EDUCATION
ADULT BASIC EDUCATION (ABE) and GED – ABE Math continued to work on “place value” this week with a game “Rolling to One Hundred” and timed addition drills and on Thursday we reviewed with a Kahoot game.
The entire ABE class had a presentation on heart disease for Wear Red Day. We had red paper dresses or ties that the students could put the name of a loved one on that they would like to not get heart disease and wear as a pin over their ABE shirts. We finished with a Kahoot game about heart disease.
Did you know 1 in 3 women die from heart disease? Also, that by doing just 4 things – eating right, being physically active, not smoking, and keeping a healthy weight – you can lower your risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent?
Students in ABE and GED classes battled in out in a “helicopter challenge.” Using cardboard, pencils and tape, we tested whose helicopter could stay in flight the longest, outdoors and inside the lobby. Maneuvering the elements of the cold, wind, humidity, torque, force, and gravity students explored Newton’s Laws of Motion. After that, the class linked the helicopter challenge to bumper cars and collision crashes. We used classroom chairs and an interactive video to demonstrate the laws of motion and explain how mass, trajectory, and velocity affect the aftermath of car accidents.
The reading class used two political websites to demonstrate bias and un-bias in the media. Students were made aware of the role of media and its responsibility to the public as we read about controversial topics such as immigration and presidential nominations for cabinet and Supreme Court justices.
Online GED – Art Seidner who teaches the online GED program, attended the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) held at the Orange County Convention Center. As an online adult education instructor he believes it is important to constantly educate himself on what is new and innovative that can be used effectively with his students. He provided the following report on the conference.
One concurrent session showed us free online learning and tools that Microsoft Education provides; the group participated in a live Skype event where we were able to speak and see live an educator in Cairo, Egypt. She allowed us to ask her questions and gave us hints so as to determine her location. This was a practical experience that many classrooms are using with students to help them get in touch with other cultures in real time. As a result of the session I learned of free Microsoft tools that I did not know exist. Other sessions gave out information on numerous Google Chrome extension resources that can be helpful to students in furthering there learning. Consider an English Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL) student could use Google Translate to assist him or her with reading online sites and learning the English language.
Also think about traveling to other places in a 3D 360 degree environment without having to leave the comfort of your own home or a classroom by using Google Cardboard; students in the classroom would be excited about this. While wearing the “cardboard” glasses over your eyes, one can turn in any direction and feel as though they are in the picture, perhaps standing in Paris at the foot of the Eiffel tower or standing in the National Gallery of Art.
Poster sessions that were offered in the enormously sized exhibit hall had professional educators showing off a skill or skills that they had learned and utilized in the classroom. Each session consisted of a large poster board on a floor easel, and on that poster was provided the written, graphic, and photographic presentation. These will be useful since many of them listed resources and steps for using them with students. There were also many related to the means of taking charge of one’s own professional development as an educator.
Finally, the exhibitors and/or vendors in the exhibit hall were plenty to see and experience. I collected many documents describing what was offered such as information on 3D printing, online course content management systems, online career planning and development tools, innovative classroom furniture, online book resources, etc. Some of the vendors were already known to us here at Lake Tech. As an adult education online instructor I continue to work with two tools from vendors who were at the conference: Schoology (an online course content management system) and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) (the provider of Buzz, our adult basic education and GED online programs content provider).
There was much to see and do at FETC. It was an overall rewarding experience that gave me ideas and further tools to assist my online students. I will also be able to pass on other useful applications to our classrooms and to the school in general. Anyone who works with educational technology should look forward to next year’s FETC event with anticipation; I know that I will!
CORRECTION CONNECTION
Lake Technical College is happy to announce that the Adult Education program, “Correction Connection,” was just awarded a $12,000 grant from the United Way of Lake & Sumter Counties. This grant will be combined with other program funds and used to help expand the GED® preparation and academic remediation program currently available within the Lake County Detention Center. The grant, in conjunction with additional funds and scholarships from the LTC Adult Education internal budget, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Lake Sumter State College, will allow Lake Tech to provide this opportunity to a minimum of 80 eligible inmates. This program will provide GED classes, educational and career counseling, workforce readiness preparation, transitioning facilitation into post-secondary education upon release, and subsequent employment follow-up.
STUDENT AFFAIRS
TECHXPO
opens IMAGE file Career Dual Enrollment – On Wednesday February 1, Kim Frazier represented Lake Tech at the Lake Sumter State College dual enrollment workshop. Over 80 counselors from Lake and Sumter county high schools, as well as the local private schools, were in attendance to learn how dual enrollment works and the benefits to high school students.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Fill the Bucket of Others – Diane Hutchinson filled the bucket of staff member Mai Yang this month. Before surprising her with the “bucket,” Diane left some special notes and small gifts in Mai’s mailbox. Bucket fillers are those who helped without being asked, give compliments, and generally spread happiness to others. Congrats Mai! Can’t wait to see who you will surprise next month.
IN THE COMMUNITY
A group of staff members from Lake Tech attended the 50th Anniversary Gala for the United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties. Diane Culpepper is the current United Way chair and gave the toast at the event. The dinner was catered by Gourmet Today where two Lake Tech students work!
STAFF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The annual Homecoming Breakfast for the Staff Alumni Association was held on February 2. This newly formed Staff Alumni Association has plans to raise $50,000 for 50 student scholarships during this 50th Anniversary Year Celebration. If you are interested in donating (you don’t have to be an alumni), please make your check payable to Lake Technical College and give the check to Lana. All donations are tax deductible and support students 100 percent!
So far, over $5,000 has been raised so they are on their way!
TECH TIP
opens PDF file Click the image to see the tip!